Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

Scotland select remarkable 48th and 49th set of siblings for USA Test

By Online Editors
Scotland rugby team

Scotland’s tradition of picking siblings is continuing with Glasgow Warriors duo Matt Fagerson (back-row) and George Horne (scrum-half) making their debuts alongside older brothers Zander and Pete in their Test match against the USA this weekend.

ADVERTISEMENT

Remarkably they will be the 48th and 49th brothers to play for Scotland, and the 22nd and 23rd pair of brothers to play together in the same Test match.

It will be only the eighth time in close to 700 Scotland Tests when two sets of brothers have been on the field at the same time, joining the Evans and Lamont brothers (2010), Bulloch and Leslie brothers (2001), Milne and Hastings brothers (1990), and the Neilson and Orr brothers, who did so four times (1891-1892).

Head coach Gregor Townsend is retaining just three of the team which beat Canada 48-10 last Saturday for the match in Houston, Texas.

Continue reading below…

Video Spacer

Glasgow Warriors full-back Stuart Hogg will captain the side while lock Ben Toolis, wing Blair Kinghorn (both Edinburgh) and Sale Sharks wing Byron McGuigan are the three players to retain their places.

Five players will also make their first starts – Glasgow Warriors trio Jamie Bhatti (prop), George Turner (hooker) and Adam Hastings (stand-off), as well as Edinburgh lock Lewis Carmichael and back-row Luke Hamilton.

Scotland Head Coach, Gregor Townsend, said: “We always planned to play as much of the squad as possible on this tour, and we also deliberately picked more Edinburgh players in the first game because their season finished earlier.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Now we welcome most of the Glasgow Warriors contingent into the team. On top of that there are seven players making their first starts for the country, which is really exciting, and we are looking forward to them going out and grabbing this opportunity.

“The USA have won their last six games and scored a lot of points in the process. They’ve beaten two teams that have already qualified for the Rugby World Cup – Uruguay and Russia – and put 60 points on both of them. They are definitely improving as a team and are playing with a lot of confidence.

“You can see in the way they attack and defend that they are well coached, added to which there are some exceptional individuals that offer running threats throughout their side, so this will be a real test for us on Saturday.”

Scotland team to play USA, BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, Texas
Saturday 16 June, kick-off 8pm local time (Sunday 2am UK time)

ADVERTISEMENT

15. Stuart Hogg CAPTAIN (Glasgow Warriors) – 60 caps

14. Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) – 3 caps
13. Nick Grigg (Glasgow Warriors) – 4 caps
12. Pete Horne VICE CAPTAIN (Glasgow Warriors) – 33 caps
11. Byron McGuigan (Sale Sharks) – 4 caps

10. Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors) – 1 cap
9. George Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – uncapped

1. Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors) – 9 caps
2. George Turner (Glasgow Warriors) – 3 caps
3. Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 16 caps
4. Lewis Carmichael (Edinburgh) – 1 cap
5. Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) – 10 caps
6. Tim Swinson VICE CAPTAIN (Glasgow Warriors) – 36 caps
7. Luke Hamilton (unattached) – 2 caps
8. Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – uncapped

Substitutes
16. Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) – 32 caps
17. Allan Dell (Edinburgh) – 11 caps
18. Murray McCallum (Edinburgh) – 2caps
19. Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh) – 23 caps
20. David Denton (Leicester Tigers) – 40 caps
21. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Scarlets) – 10 caps
22. Mark Bennett (Edinburgh) – 21 caps
23. Dougie Fife (Edinburgh) – 6 caps

Video Spacer
ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

44 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING 'I didn't think it would happen this early': Carbery on Munster exit 'I didn't think it would happen this early': Carbery on Munster exit
Search